Badly Drawn Boy

Badly Drawn Boy
Background information
Birth nameDamon Michael Gough
Born (1969-10-02) 2 October 1969
Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England
OriginBolton, Greater Manchester, England
GenresIndie rock, indie folk, lo-fi
OccupationSinger-songwriter
Instrument(s)Guitar, vocals, bass, drums, percussion, banjo, piano, keyboards, harmonica
Years active1995–present
LabelsTwisted Nerve Records
XL Recordings (1998–2004)
EMI (2006–2008)
BDB Records/One Last Fruit (2009–present)
Websitebadlydrawnboy.co.uk

Damon Michael Gough (born 2 October 1969), known by the stage name Badly Drawn Boy, is an English indie singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

Gough chose his stage name from a character in the show The Magic Ball, which he saw on TV at a party in Trafford, Greater Manchester, in 1995. Before he thought of using this name he made some business cards, each one unique, with a printed picture of a drawing by his nephew and a small collage by Gough.

At the Generation X bar in Manchester, Gough met Andy Votel, who was DJing that night. Gough was there to attend friends Scott Abraham and Damon Hayhurst's contributions to an exhibition by the Space Monkey Clothing Company. The chance meeting led to the foundation of Twisted Nerve Records.

In 2002, Q magazine named Badly Drawn Boy in their list of the "50 Bands to See Before You Die," although this was as part of a sub-list of "5 Bands That Could Go Either Way" on account of Gough's tendency to talk and tell stories for extended periods in concert rather than play songs.